Holiday season questions answered at recent Lunch and Learn
View the recording, “Navigating the holiday season”
(SACRAMENTO)
The holiday season has arrived – how do you feel about the holidays?
More than 100 people registered for the Nov. 26 Lunch and Learn, “Navigating the holiday season.”
Sara Aghamohammadi, chief wellness officer, and Carol Kirshnit, director of the Academic and Staff Assistance Program, covered four key areas – setting boundaries, navigating gift-giving, healthy eating tips, and coping with grief – to help folks feel more at ease amid the festivities. Participants submitted their questions in advance.
Popular questions
Before the lunch and learn, the UC Davis Health community was invited to submit questions or concerns about what they may experience this holiday season.
The following were the most common questions received:
How do you navigate tricky conversations around politics, religion, and the like? I want to avoid discussing “hot topics” at family gatherings.
What if I don’t want to give gifts this year? How do I communicate that without causing drama?
How do I resist overeating?
How do you set a healthy boundary?
I don’t want to be around family this year. How do I communicate that I’m not participating in family activities without sounding rude?
I recently lost a loved one, and this holiday season just won’t be the same. How can you celebrate while you’re grieving?
I am on a tight budget. How do I set expectations around gift-giving this year?
My immediate family and I don’t want to travel this holiday season. How can we kindly communicate this to the extended family?
Aghamohammadi and Kirshnit shared resources and role-played different scenarios around each key area (e.g., boundaries, gift-giving, healthy eating, and coping with grief).
